Who to believe - L&C or Woolwich?

Dan_Collins_2

dunstonh wrote: »

Personal Touch is the one I am aware of. Rubbish network in my opinion. So much so that I have a couple of IFAs that are with them who pass business to me because they cannot do it because of PTs rules. I also act as consultant to their firm for investment business and you wouldnt believe some of the rubbish their compliance dept comes out with as requirements.

Well we use PTFS and they are actually very good. Compliance has got tighter but all networks are doing the same. At first we thought about moving because it was getting silly but with what has happened in the market we are now glad for it. After researching the market we could beat our current arrangement. All Networks are trying to protect their PI policy. However we are allowed BDM's so I am not sure what you are talking about. Then again I am a mortgage and protection broker and my IFA is not part of PTFS so I dont know how they work on that side.

dunstonh

Well we use PTFS and they are actually very good.

We will have to agree to disagree as I think they are awful and quite frankly a disgrace. However, that is more geared to the investment side of things.

Compliance has got tighter but all networks are doing the same.

It would be good if PT compliance actually knew the rules on certain basic things though.

However we are allowed BDM's so I am not sure what you are talking about. Then again I am a mortgage and protection broker and my IFA is not part of PTFS so I dont know how they work on that side.

Maybe it is the IFA side of things only then. As my only experience with PT is the IFAs that I act as consultant to. All the areas they have problems with have been investment and they have been told they can only deal with the insurance company reps that or on the Persoanal Touch helplines.

The impression I have got over the years is that PT is more geared to mortgage and protection and is fairly poor at investment business which is just a small part of their network. That would also be reflected in the commissions as the commission paid on investments, pensions and life business is consistently lower than what I get paid for like for like business. Small networks cannot get the best commission terms. I wouldnt be surprised though if some of their mortgage commissions negotiated were higher than my network though which is a bit of the reverse with investment business being priority.

kenshaz

freda wrote: »

L&C broker is telling me that if I don't apply for the discount tracker (-0.06% BoE for 2 yrs) Woolwich product before 2pm today, Woolwich are withdrawing the product.

However, on calling Woolwich directly, they know nothing about the product being discontinued and say that they usually get a few days notice at least.

Who do I believe? L&C broker (trying to meet end of month targets?) or Woolwich call centre person?[/quote
Not that old trick.I would not be happy,to create artificial deadlines is pressurised selling,I would speak to his line-manager and escalate if required,I am sure that the company would not authorise ,because in the long run it would be detrimental.It is also a lie and unprofessional.

MortgagesInc

I have to agree with both Dan, and to a certain extent dunstonh. We are AR's of Personal Touch, and they have been fantastic. I bet there aren't that many networks of their size that you can still phone up and talk to the big bosses. I would agree though that they are much stronger on the mortgage side, fees wise, and do pay above 'market rates' on several high street lenders. From the point of view of compliance, they are normally fine if you explain, justify and document things correctly - never had any issues at all.

dunstonh

Not that old trick.I would not be happy,to create artificial deadlines is pressurised selling,I would speak to his line-manager and escalate if required,I am sure that the company would not authorise ,because in the long run it would be detrimental.It is also a lie and unprofessional.

With respect, there is a good chance that the L&C broker knew in advance of the offer ending as has now been shown. Plus, having worked in a bank I can tell you that bank staff are often the last to know. Indeed, I recall customers coming in telling us we had a new product.

Advisers get support staff from providers in a way that bank staff do not.

Dan_Collins_2

dunstonh wrote: »

With respect, there is a good chance that the L&C broker knew in advance of the offer ending as has now been shown. Plus, having worked in a bank I can tell you that bank staff are often the last to know. Indeed, I recall customers coming in telling us we had a new product.

Advisers get support staff from providers in a way that bank staff do not.

There is a chance but why not tell the truth Dunstonh. Its easy, I do it all the time. You say, well the product is going on friday however I need to input the case online and due to the volume of cases can we get it done by x?? No harm the client will be glad he has a broker with a brain!

Mortgageman

Hi Freda,

Sorry that we've confused you a bit - as Leon W said (10:56) we had advance notice on Friday that the Woolwich were considering repricing their products "early this week".

We are often in the fortunate position of finding these things out in advance of most of the market (and as you have noticed often the lenders employees themselves!).

Typically we will use this advance warning to advise potential customers that the product may be withdrawn - as we have done in this case.

In our experience it's better we share this information with you rather than not - although I appreciate your concerns, which were confounded by the Woolwich themselves not knowing!

As it transpired, the product is still available today, but there will be a repricing tomorrow. We don't create false deadlines, but we do work closely with lenders to have as much warning as possible to try and avoid a bottleneck of applications.

Regarding your Holmsdale query, we are aware of the Holmsdale building society (in fact they are currently appearing in our best buy tables).

These smaller lenders do occasionally have special deals for borrowers who live close to their region - if you mention it to your adviser I'm sure they will be happy to crunch the numbers. (In fact, I've just had an email pop in to my intray telling me that Holmsedale are withdrawing their 2 and 3 year trackers with immediate effect - so you will probably want to get in touch with them today if possible).

I'm sorry we gave you cause for doubt, if you have any questions then please continue to post to this thread, or send me a private message (click on my name on the left hand side).

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[SIZE=-0][SIZE=-0][SIZE=-0][SIZE=-0]p.s. full disclosure, as it has been a while since I've posted on this site, I work for London & Country in a non-advising role. [/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE]

Dan_Collins_2

Fair play for coming on here, maybe your advisors could be a little more clearer on why they are telling the client to rush.

Leon_W

Don't talk about rush Dan !

I was notified this morning about rates being pulled by close on Friday. So that means any outstanding apps had to be signed up and posted today (no online for BTL !) So I've been out all afternoon, me fretting, clients fretting, collecting apps and got to the post office at 5.20 ! Only the bl00dy Woolwich !. Talk about treating customers unfairly, as one other I had outstanding has missed the boat through no fault of his own.

Thanks for posting L & C and clearing it up. As I suspected, you were in the know.

Regards

Dan_Collins_2

Well that is a reason not to use the Woolwich, they have a poor service record with clients and brokers!! I have been lucky and not had to use them! They have a poor record, although at the mo with B2L choice is not an option!

I agree Dunstonh when I work for a BS they would release a cracking deal put it in the weekend papers and I would find a big pile of apps in the post box and a head ache to deal with!